Nobody Wants To See Keira Knightley’s Small Breasts! (Or Do They?)

The stigma surrounding breasts is fascinatingly contradictory. We’re supposed to have them, but as a result, we get copious amounts of unwanted attention from people who seem to believe we’re “asking for it” by being shaped as such. Standard-size models–widely considered to be some of the most beautiful women on earth–frequently don’t have large breasts and spend their careers receiving both glorification and criticism over this. Society considers motherhood deeply important, but breastfeeding–one of the most natural, healthy and instinctive actions of humans–is to be done only inside the home. Men and women are equal, but one needs to conceal their chests while the other can go jogging shirtless through the mall, for all anybody cares. Women should cover up, except when there’s a fancy event and cleavage is expected. It all makes no fucking sense.

When a female celebrity does wind up showing her breasts–which she’s simultaneously scrutinized for and begged to do on a regular basis–she gets a whole lot of media attention regarding her decision. This week, that magical celebrity is Keira Knightley!

For Allure‘s December cover, Knightley went topless with a small jacket wrapped around her shoulders. The issue’s photos, shot by Mario Testino, are absolutely gorgeous but have brought up questions regarding the her choice to expose her breasts. Knightley explains that she doesn’t mind showing her chest to the world and isn’t shy about it, as her breasts are “so small,” that it doesn’t actually matter:

“Sex scenes in films–I’m quite rigorous about what gets exposed,” she explained. “No bottom half. I don’t mind exposing my tits because they’re so small — people really aren’t that interested.”

Au contraire, Miss Knightley! It’s silly to say that nobody cares about seeing small breasts. As somebody who frequents a fair share of porn sites, I can say that there’s a pretty considerable amount of folks who prefer smaller boobs over others. I think it’s a common misconception–typically progressed by sexists pressuring women to look a certain way–that females who don’t have a C and above aren’t sexy or feminine, but that’s absolutely not true. People tend to get down on women with thinner, less curvy frames, but that’s just another way of altering their self images to fit a specific mold in the same way that fat-shaming does.

But it would seem that Hollywood disagrees and would prefer her chest to be larger, at least for film purposes. For the “King Arthur” poster, Knightley’s breasts were digitally enhanced.

She commented, “They always [draw] in my boobs. I was only angry [because] for the ‘King Arthur’ poster, they gave me these strange droopy tits. I thought, if you’re going to make fantasy breasts, at least make perky breasts.” I actually think the Photoshopped boobs don’t look remotely droopy, but I also don’t think the left photo needed editing in the first place.

Knightley has received quite a bit of flack regarding her appearance since she’s gained stardom over time. Magazines have long speculated that she has an eating disorder–though if she were to gain 10 pounds, they would declare her a compulsive eater–and this has apparently been really hard on her. She even admitted that all the criticism made her briefly question if something was wrong with her, saying, “”You go, oh, maybe that’s right! I knew I wasn’t anorexic, but maybe my body is somehow not right.” The fact that people can speculate so hard on whether or not a person is healthy that that person actually questions herself, made uncertain by the comments of others.

In conclusion, Keira Knightley: I think plenty of people want to see your boobs. I’m sure they are fantastic, like you, and it’s entirely your decision whether or not you wanna let ’em loose.